


Rivalries

by Aicosu



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fraternities & Sororities, Hazing, M/M, Minor Poe Dameron/Finn, Movie Reference, Multi, Parallels, Slow Burn, Street Racing, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Unresolved Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-14
Updated: 2016-02-26
Packaged: 2018-05-20 07:27:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5996848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aicosu/pseuds/Aicosu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A not-so-simple mechanic gets caught up in a long standing rivalry between two Universities after finding a lost dog and agreeing to illegally fix a street racer's car.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Initiation Night

He had gotten caught.

They struggled with his arms as he kicked his legs. His boots dragged on the wood and his elbow smacked into the door frame of the upper bedroom.

He could feel one of the boys shifting the zip tie around his wrists, trying to push it further.

And then someone kicked him in the stomach.

He guffawed, eyes blurring, the vision of boys around him merged together as a mess of shadows and faces.

He cringed and closed his eyes to the sight, listening instead to the blaring bass and screaming of the party downstairs.

“Take him to the basement.”

His legs were lifted, arms and shoulders hefted, and the group shuffled to follow the cold order.

In vain he tried to move, but succeeded in only making himself dizzy as they stormed down the stairs into the throng of the party.

Pink and blue lights flashed across the ceiling with the shadows of people dancing.

They hustled through a forest of shoulders and heads, his body surfing above everything like he was in a concert.Then they dropped him to the ground in front of the basement stairs and pushed him down them.

His arms came up over his head as he banged against the railing and the hit the landing.

“Agh—“ He winced, several new bruises blooming into his mind and across his muscles.

He got steadily up on his elbow, right before someone kicked him again and he went to the ground.

He waited this time, hands gripping his chest through his varsity jacket.

“—I don’t care. Just get here. Fast.” A voice clipped above him, piercing through the now muffled sounds of dance music.

He watched a pair of shiny black loafers circle across the floor.

They stopped with a click in front of him.

“Dameron.”

Poe glanced slowly upwards, following the black trousers up to the fraternity blazer hanging off the shoulders of a ginger haired boy, one hand raised lazily to hold a phone to a pale ear.

“Well, the ‘General’ himself.” Poe teased, even with a bruise throbbing through his cheek. "How are you Hux?"

"Yes." Hux replied into the phone, glaring. "No, he's alone."

"Oh, are you not talking to me?"

"Upstairs."

"Cause I can't tell. You're holding your phone but you're looking at me so it's a little—"

"Quickly." Hux's finger slid against the screen before dropping his arm.

It went quiet again, Poe staring up at the Frat boy's angry face as Hux seemed to mull something over in annoyance.

He took a quick stock of the basement from there on his knees.

But he saw more fraternity boys than he saw exits. In fact there was a whole lot of them. Too many. Almost an actual formation of young college boys all staring down at him.

Why were they all sweaty... and breathing hard?

Oh.

Initiation night.

Well, that would explain the party.

Poe had hoped that all the boys would have been too drunk to have noticed him sneak in to their quarters. Instead he had caught them in rare form, geared up after Rush Week and high on hazing the new pledges.

"What were you doing upstairs?"

"What?" He blinked, snapping his gaze back to Hux. "Oh, are you talking to me now?"

"What were you looking for?"

"I was just here for the party, General, honest."

Hux turned away then, and Poe swallowed as he looked over the freshmen.

"Pledges. This is a good opportunity for you. We'll see if anyone here is Trooper material."

Poe looked back over the group of boys' faces. They all seemed to eye him with similar trepidation, but even with the small mercy in their eyes he couldn't muster up much hope.

They had all earned their Bids into the First Order. They knew what was expected of them. And if Poe had learned anything in his experience with fraternities in the last two years, it was that peer pressure could make a good kid do just about anything.

"You, FN-2199, step forward."

Poe tried to struggle to his feet as the newbie Stormtrooper stepped forward, but Hux's lackeys from upstairs were still behind him and ready to hold him.

"Why don't you give our sister school's favorite rally boy a First Order salute."

Where the other pledges had all seemed nervous, 2199 didn't hesitate.

The punch landed right in his brow and Poe squeezed his eyes shut tight. He fell back against the boys holding him.

"What were you doing here? What were you looking for?" Hux tried again, looming over him. "Trying to sabotage our initiation? Is the Resistance looking to get another one of our students expelled?"

Poe forced himself to laugh loudly in his face.

Hux looked offended, which helped.

"I can make every one of these pledges have a go at you Dameron."

Poe didn't doubt that.

"Hit him again. The one who gets him to talk tonight is immune for the rest of the week."

The next punch was in his stomach.

Poe steeled himself. It would be a really, really long night if he didn't focus on—

The basement door burst open behind them.

Silence.

2199 backed off suddenly with his eyes wide and shoulders tense, a look shared by the rest of the troopers in the basement. The General was staring up too, his eyes calmer but expectant.

Poe didn't have to try and look over his shoulder to know who must have walked in.

Heavy boots thudded against the stairs, bringing the loud pounding bass from the party with them.

They came into view before the rest of him, but before he could look up a deep muffled voice spoke.

"Pick him up."

The Order brothers hefted him to his feet. He tried to push away, but his neck got caught in a pair of gloves, stilling him in place to stare straight into the black abyss of tinted motorcycle helmet.

Kylo Ren.

The silver of the vents on the helmet pinpointed the visor's stare directly at him.

"He was in your room." Hux spoke, stepping forward to throw his accusing and suspicious look at Poe as he dangled in Ren's grasp.

"I think he's here because of initiation night."

"No." Ren interrupted and fingers squeezed on Poe's throat. "I know why he's here."

Poe stared at his own reflection in the visor, swallowing again. If he focused, he could see the flashing pink and blue lights from upstairs in the tint.

"Did you take it?"

"I would never take your cheerleader uniform Kyl—"

Ren's punch was much more precise. He rose his middle knuckle in his fist and slammed it into his temple. It made the room spin and his ears ring. He was thrown back on the floor. 

Ren paced, Poe watched his boots move in front of him. Here, there, then before Hux's loafers.

"He's here for the flashdrive."

He couldn't see much with spots in his vision, but he started laughing with how perfectly he could imagine Hux's fearful expression.

"What— did he take it?"

"Search his jacket."

The hands holding him groped and pushed as he laughed and laughed.

"Nothing, Ren."

"Where is it?"

Poe looked up at the visor glaring down at him and the harsh breathing in Ren's shoulders. He shook his head at him.

"You two, come with me. Hux—" Ren ordered, already leaving. He lead the other Order boys upstairs to his room and Hux hastily followed.

"Trooper— FN-2187, hold Dameron until we get back!"

Another pledge stepped forward and Poe closed his eyes, feeling nice and cool on the basement floor.

The room of freshmen and their captive listened as their senior brothers rampaged through the party to the bedrooms. Bangs and clattering dispersed some of the cheering, confusion filtered through the music.

A pair of hands grabbed at his shoulders to slowly sit him up and this time he didn't resist.

Poe smiled blearily.

A loud crash erupted through the house and the music stopped.

There was a loud, terrible shout, followed by Hux yelling through the crowd.

"Troopers! All the pledges to me! NOW!"

The boys in the basement scrambled, hurrying past Poe and his holder as they raced to meet their upperclassman's demands.

More screaming, more yelling.

They wouldn't find it.

Poe knew the night was far from over and most likely he'd have to limp to the school's health center in the morning, but at least they wouldn't find it.

"Hey—"

He only hoped that it would make it back before—

"Hey, listen— listen to me."

He twisted, staring up at the freshman holding him.

They were the only ones still in the basement.

"Can you stand? We gotta get out of here."

"What?"

The boy's face grimaced and suddenly he was being lifted.

"Stand! Stand— we gotta go before they come back!"

Poe stared at him, holding his zip tied hands out to steady himself. The trooper was still sweating from whatever Hux had made them do. Probably run around the house for 100 laps and then do sit ups with seniors sitting on them, if last year's initiation was anything to go by. Still, he was decked out in the Imperial Ivy sweatshirt and lanyard.

"Wait—why are you—"

"They shouldn't be beating you. I don't know what you stole but—"

They fumbled, and Poe grabbed the boy's hand. "You don't want to get hazed anymore do you?"

The boy paused, eyes looking at Poe's with a sort of exhausted desperation that had Poe smiling.

"No, I don't."

"Alright, let's do this, man! Let's get out of here!"

"Yeah??"

"Yeah, help me with this window!"

They scrambled, racing across the room to the small horizontal window above a few boxes.

"What!? We won't fit through that—"

"Sure we will, sure we will—

"No let's sneak out the door through the party—"

A scream and a bang interrupted them, both boys going tense as Kylo Ren's rage faded upstairs and Hux called down into the basement.

"Bring Dameron up here, NOW!"

They stared for a second before they both tried to climb on each other to get out the window.

"Open the window, open it, fast!"

The trooper helped hoist him and Poe's fingers slid over the sill.

"2187!!"

"Go, push it!"

"Its not a latch! It doesn't open!"

"Break it!"

Footsteps roared down the stairs just as Poe cocked his elbow and slammed it into the glass.

"Hux, Ren! They're going out the window!

"What!"

"GO! GO!"

Glass caught in his hair as Poe wriggled into the window, his hands yanking at the grass and dirt from the front lawn of the Frat house.

"Trooper stop!"

"Grab my hands!" Poe called after he got free and twisted toward him.

They grasped each other and he pulled, cringing as all the bruises from before sprang up through his body.

"I'm not gonna fit!"

"You'll fit!"

The trooper's fingers hooked onto the zip tie around Poe's wrist and he tried pulling his whole body backward to drag him out. 

The zip tie snapped. 

They paused, looking at each other. 

"Well that's one thing fixed." Poe commented. 

"AH!" The trooper yelled "—they got my legs!"

With free hands Poe fully grabbed the boy's arms, pulling and yanking as the trooper's eyes went wide with fear.

"I got you, I got you!"

He got him through to his waist and the boy's hands enveloped him back, both pushing at the window to finally break free in a series of kicks and yells.

They raced to their feet and immediately started sprinting, Poe only turned to watch the other pledge boys trying to follow them through the window.

The front lawn of the frat house was clustered with people in groups drinking and laughing, and Poe and the trooper dodged through, pushing and yelling until they hit the driveway.

Poe almost ran into the huge black Command parked right on the steps.

And then he remembered.

"Wait! We have to go back!"

The trooper, nearly to the street stopped. "W-What!?"

He turned, looking over his shoulder to the front door of the house. The music was gone, but there was still lights dancing in the windows and people laughing by the door.

"I got to go back for Buddy!"

"For what?"

"My dog! He has the flashdrive! I dropped it to him from Ren's window."

"We can't go back there, they'll kill us!"

Poe shot his hands out to clutch the boy's shoulders. "I'm not leaving my dog! Show me where Ren's window is."

Panting, the trooper closed his mouth, debating.

"It's on the side by the back door, come on—"

"HEY! STOP THEM!"

They jumped, staring as the front door burst open and pledges poured out.

The boys broke out in a run, dodging around the car and making a few girls scatter.

Poe followed as the trooper rounded the house's hedges, helping push him out when the branches caught his sweatshirt.

"Buddy!" He called as they burst open the back gate.

"Buddy! Where are you Buddy?"

They sprinted down the side of the house, and slid on the gravel to face the back porch. A gaggle of people stopped to look up and stare at them.

"Ren's window is up there!" The trooper pointed and Poe recognized the area from earlier that night when he had tossed the small piece of plastic out the window to his waiting Corgi.

There was a small muffled bark and they twisted to look behind them, a small shadow dancing around the other side of the fence.

"There you are, Buddy!" Poe smiled, running to the fence and hoisting himself up over it. The trooper followed and they fell to the other side just as the other pledges barreled into the backyard from the house.

"We don't have time for this, we got to get out of here!"

The orange and white Corgi was shaking his short stub of a tail and hopping to and fro on his knees.

"Did you get it? Where'd you put it, pal?"

"They're behind the fence!" Someone yelled.

"Come on, we can't wait!"

Buddy hacked then, dropping a wet and slobbery USB flashdrive from his mouth and smiling wide with a lopped out tongue.

"That's my, Buddy! Good job!"

Poe snatched the plastic and pulled the dog close, grabbing at his collar and pushing the USB onto his tag clip.

"Listen Buddy, you gotta run back to campus you hear me? You gotta take this far without me, pal."

"They're coming! Fast!"

The fence rattled behind them as pledges started climbing.

"POE!'

He stood and motioned at his dog. "Go Buddy! Get out of here!"

Buddy's ears flattened but he sprinted, his small body shaking as he took off.

He grabbed the trooper's shoulder and tugged and they turned the opposite way and ran.

They ran as fast as they could, racing down the alley between fraternity houses out to the side street. They curved, looking to turn left to get to the main road.

An engine revved in their ears as they turned, bright hot headlights swallowing their vision as a car veered towards them.

"WHA—"

"Fucking Ren!" Poe exclaimed, his hands scrambling to pull the trooper with him onto the sidewalk. "Go, go! He's not gonna stop!"

The car roared behind them, loud and banging as it tore onto the curb to press at their backs.

"He's crazy!"

"Run! Run and get to that cart!" Poe yelled, pointing down the street to a parked golf cart a few driveways away.

"That's— that's campus security!"

"We can take it across campus to the Plaza! We can loose him going over the grass!"

"And then what!?" The trooper yelled across from him, looking at each other as they ran with headlights tracing their backs.

"We'll be safe on Resistance grounds!"

They pressed against each other when Kylo Ren's car ripped from the sidewalk to avoid a lamp post, screeching tires racing beside them on the street.

"Golf cart, golf cart!" Poe pointed.

"We can't just steal it!"

"We're about to!"

Poe practically flew into the thing when they were close enough, rocking the small cart and tipping it slightly. His hands grabbed at the ignition, feeling the keys. The trooper followed, piling into the small seat beside him.

Ren's car followed them up the drive until it couldn't, tires catching on the curb and peeling rubber on the cement.

The trooper smacked his hands on the dash. "Come on, come on!"

Poe threw the thing on and smashed his foot onto the petal. The small golf cart jerked, yanking them from park into drive. He jerked the wheel towards the street and they thudded off the curb.

"No, man, no! He's gonna—"

Ren's engine roared, the Command veering backwards to straighten up and tear towards them at full speed.

It clipped the back of the cart just as they got to the other side. They jostled but stayed upright and Poe raced them down the sidewalk towards the students recreation fields.

"Holy shit, holy shit—" The trooper started cursing, when the entire Command ripped onto the sidewalk after them, tires squealing across the lawn and shredding gardens.

"You got to be kidding me!?" Poe yelled at the side mirror, watching Ren's grill eat bushes and a fraternity  lawn sign.

The cart thudded and the wheel yanked when they got rear-ended, and Poe fought against it to keep them straight when they suddenly started accelerating.

"He's gonna crash us!"

"He's CRAZY!"

"Throw something at him!"

"YOU'RE CRAZY!"

Poe raised his hands to cover his head as they flew straight into the low hanging branches of a tree. When they broke free he grasped the wheel again.

"We got to shake him! If we can get to the football fields I can get us out of here but right now he's gonna crash us into the side of the student office!"

They rattled over another driveway, breaking from the line of frat houses into the recreation parking lot.

"What do I throw? What do I throw!?" The trooper yelled, pulling at the cart's back compartment and shuffling through things.

"Anything!? It just has to get him off us—"

Poe watched him pull out a thick binder of papers with the Imperial Ivy's school logo and black bold letters spelling ' _Student Rulebook and Manual_.'

"Yes- THAT— THROW IT!"

He did, rising to his knees as they zoomed past the empty lot under the street lamps. He tossed the whole binder and Poe watched in the side mirror as is banged on Ren's hood before cracking the wind shield and scattering papers everywhere like rain.

"WHOO!"

Ren's car spun, squealing on the brakes and twisting sideways as the engine died.

"You got it!"

"Did you see that!? Did you see!? It cracked his whole window!"

"I saw, I saw!" Poe laughed, adrenaline rushing through him as he got the cart back under control. They raced onto the sidewalks of the offices, veering into the path towards the football fields, going near 50mphs thanks to Ren's car.

"Oh man— I can't believe that! He's going to murder me when I get back—"

"No, no, you're coming with me to my campus!" Poe corrected. "It's thanks to you I got out of there, man, I have friends that weren't as lucky before—"

The trooper looked over at him, eyes wide and body panting.

"What's your name, pal?"

"FN-2187."

"No—no! Not your school ID number! I can't believe those assholes still do that!"

"Until I'm ranked I can't—"

"I'm not gonna call you that!" Poe argued and they went quiet.

"Finn!"

"What?"

"Finn. My name's Finn."

"Finn! I like that!" Poe laughed, and clamped him on the back.

Finn smiled at him.

The cart slowed a little as they pulled down a ramp and rattled onto the football field. The small motor of the cart whined a little as it made tracks in the grass.

"Here, help me would you?" Poe asked, trying to shrug out of his old varsity jacket. "That 99 guy hit me pretty good and I can't steer that great."

Finn reached over to keep the wheel steady so he could pull his jacket off.

"Once we get to the Resistance I can take you to my place. My roommates should be home and with any luck Buddy will be there too."

"What did you steal from Ren?"

"Ren stole first."

"What?"

"He stole the test answers for the J.E.D.I placement test."

"WHAT?"

"I'm just stealing them back. Those FO boys are done getting free passes for their bar exams."

"But that test places you for Skywalker's grad school program—"

"Exactly!" Poe shook his head, slowing down the cart as they neared the goal posts of the football field. Beyond it and the fence around the Imperial's recreation grounds was the student Plaza where he had first snuck in. After that they could take the shuttle across the tracks and up the hill. They would be in the clear.

"Come on, we'll leave this thing here." He parked the cart at the post, stepping out with Finn and dragging out his jacket from the seat. "Hold this for me would you Finn? I'm going to try and call my buddy Jess and see if she'll pick us up from the tracks."

"Is the Resistance school past the tracks?" Finn asked, pulling the high school varsity jacket close to his chest.

He nodded, both of them walking toward the fence. He dug out his phone, scrolling through his contacts.

A screaming roar of tires had them stopping.

"Fuck."

They turned just as the black Command veered into view behind the bleachers, roaring down the football field in a flurry of dirt and red under lights. It ripped the half line apart in seconds and both boys tensed, hunching their shoulders when it crashed right into their campus golf cart, barreling the thing into scrap before screeching to a stop.

"Holy shit, holy shit—"

"Finn run!" Poe shouted, pushing the boy to the fence as the car door opened and the motorcycle helmet appeared.

"Poe!"

They hurried to the fence, looking over their shoulder as Kylo Ren stalked toward them.

Another sound broke their focus. Wheels scraped against ground as two more cars ripped onto the field to follow suit. More First Order.

"Shit, shit!"

"Climb!" Poe pushed Finn up the fence before him, helping hoist his feet before the boy jumped over and turned back to Poe.

"Come on, hurry!"

"No! You go!"

"What!?"

"COWARDS!" A deep voice yelled from the helmet, standing by the goal post in a shadow of headlights.

Poe's heart thudded. "Go Finn. Get to my school, they won't hurt me too bad if they don't want to get in trouble with administration. I'm no pledge."

"But—"

"GO!" Poe yelled and Finn backed up, trailing the varsity jacket in his hands.

He watched Finn take a few steps back before turning to run and breathed a short sigh of relief.

He could hear parked cars kill their engines and open their doors.

Poe turned, letting go of the fence and staring at Ren's tall form across from him.

He smiled.

This is where the fun begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hahahaha-- I know nothing about cars, and my college didn't have fraternities, so I'm clearly certified to write this. 
> 
> I will stick to the movies plot when its suits me and then ignore it completely when I want. 
> 
> **References:**  
> [Kylo Ren's Car](http://www.musclecarsworld.com/gallery/2008-dodge-challenger-convertible-the-first-mr-norms-super-challenger/2008-dodge-challenger-mr-norms-convertible-011.jpg) (Translating the Command Shuttle into a 2008 Dodge Challenger Convertible.)  
> [FN-2199](http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/FN-2199)


	2. Uncle's Car Plot

He peeled into the parking spot, ignoring the group of girls jumping onto the curb to avoid getting hit.

They shouted at him as he threw his gears into park. He glared back, anger rising.

He hadn't really seen them.

Other students crowded around the parking lot, peering into the car.

He couldn't really see much through the shattered cracks of his windshield.

The door ripped open, and he shot out of it, slamming the heavy metal back into place before rounding his car with long strides to open the back door and grab his bag.

It was already 9:22am though. He had raced through the campus neighborhood and still hadn't gotten there on time.

If his professor decided to mark his tardiness it would be the third time now. Officially impeding his participation score. In a prerequisite class of all things.

His bag struggled with him, the strap caught under the backseat's metal track and wedged against his motorcycle helmet.

He grabbed the helmet with his other hand and yanked hard on the bag. The strap ripped.

His phone rang.

"FUCK ME!"

A few people jumped behind him and he ripped away from the door, kicking it closed, helmet still in one hand as he pulled the phone from his pocket.

Hux.

He felt his body tense uncomfortably and the sleep he hadn't gotten the night before creep up on him.

The phone was hot on his ear.

"What?"

"Ren. Where did you go?"

"I have class." He grit out, "I told Dopheld when I left. Just keep questioning—"

"I'm having the Troopers take Dameron to the Plaza to walk back to the Resistance."

"What?" He stiffened, staring at nothing as students filed past him. "Did he tell you where he put the flashdrive?"

"...No."

"Are you fuck—"

"Well he—"

"—king kidding me?"

"He said that his dog ate it."

They went quiet.

"This isn't high school anymore, General."

"Don't call me that." Hux snapped and Kylo could practically envision the expression on his face. "It's all we could get. One of the girls here from last night said she saw a dog in the yard. A corgi."

"A corgi. Took the flashdrive?"

"What else do you want from me?"

"Get the real answer out of him, General!"

"Oh don't! You know I can't keep him here! He's not talking. And if we rough him up even more the schools will get suspicious."

"Some help your fucking pledges are. They can't even get a rally boy to talk, but they can obviously help him get away."

"You weren't any more help and you had a car."

Kylo's skin burned, fingers curling into the hems of his jacket.

"How do you know..." He spoke quietly into the phone, eyes shifting around the student parking lot. "That he isn't just going to tell the Resistance administration that we took him hostage?"

"Because he would have to admit to breaking into our house and stealing the J.E.D.I answers himself."

"But now he has—"

"You think I don't—"

"If anyone finds out that we took them in the first plac—"

"You do not need to reprimand me!"

"It was your pledge that helped him get away!"

"A pledge you gave Bid too!"

He yelled then, ripping his phone away from his ear to shout at the speaker at the bottom of the device.

"Figure out where that fucking dog went!" He shouted at Hux's name, the time stamp dying as he slid the screen to hang up.

They were fucked.

Dameron would return the flash drive to Skywalker. Or Worse. And then he would be expelled. His lawyer would drop him. 6 years gone in a shit night.

He yelled and kicked his tire before raising the heavy motorcycle helmet still in his hand and bashing it down onto his hood.

The metal squealed, bending inward with a sick satisfying crunch every time he hit it.

A few students scattered, hurrying to class away from Kylo Ren as he slowly smashed his hood into his engine, screaming in the student parking lot.  
  


* * *

 

Perfect.

She took a step back, staring at the engine, lowering her oil slicked hands.

It fit. Or at least, it looked like it fit.

There wasn't a need to throw the hood down, there wasn't one on the old x-wing.

Instead she tossed her rag to the tool rack and yanked the power cables off the garage floor away from the tires. She ran about the car, snatching the polishes off the trunk and carting them away before excitedly rushing back to the driver's (missing) door and dropping into the cushioned seat.

She took a deep breath and took hold of the metal bracket she had cut as a replacement ignition key.

Her foot pushed the brake down and she turned the engine on.

It sputtered.

Rey pressed her forehead on the steering wheel. "No, no, no—"

Again.

The car whined and sputtered.

"Argh!" She pushed out of the car once more and headed back to the hood.

Maybe it wasn't the actual plugs of the engine at this point? Maybe it was the battery. Or well, the second battery she had put in. X-Wings and their converters were so picky—

Rey twisted, looking around the cluttered garage. She wandered across the cement, dodging the hardware storages and the packed cars lined up to the outside.

There had to be at least one more battery worth trying in the salvage at the back of the lot. Maybe she could snatch one from that old Tandoshan cruiser Uncle had taken in yesterday. It would be awhile until the client picked it up, and she could just see if the X-Wing would work even if she had to put it back after.

She was so close already and—

"Futo ee nawa! Kuma!"

Rey stopped dead in her tracks, grasping the dirty goggles on her eyes and sliding them into her hair.

"Ni koon saha!" The familiar voice complained. It was followed by yapping and barking.

She ran, closing in on the edge of the junkyard that bordered Teedo's.

"Hey! Antama parkwal!"

The barking continued as she spotted the Junker through the fence, his own goggled face glaring down at a dog wriggling beneath the bent metal to get to Uncle's side. His own giant Boxer was jumping up and down and snarling.

"Parkwal datanna!" Rey yelled again.

Teedo looked up at her then, spitting out a toothpick and snatching the Boxer by the collar and yanking him back.

She slid to her knees, adding more dust to her already brown pants and immediately grabbed the dog by the scruff to help pull him through.

It was a corgi and his ears flattened at her touch, short little paws scrambling furiously as his tags jingled.

"Tel Kuma!" Teedo spat, pointing an old hammer at them.

Rey pulled her own wrench to level at him. "Noma!"

He spit for real this time and yanked the Boxer back once more, leading him away from the fence.

When the corgi was free it twisted in her lap, yapping loudly.

"Shh!" She glared, hands holding his frantic body still. Patches of oil appeared on it's ginger coat.

It whined.

"Be quiet or Teedo will call pest control like he did all the other mutts looking for scrap."

Rey shifted to sit more comfortably and the corgi didn't bark again, turning its head to stare at her. The collar jingled.

"You're not a mutt, are you?" She asked, flicking the collar and it's tags.

A bark and the corgi scrambled from her lap.

She stood and brushed at it irritably with her hands. "Go on then. Go. The streets out that way."

The dog trotted, seemingly ignoring her as it headed towards the front of the shop to the main street.

Rey shook her head, turning back to the rows of car parts lined along the dirt of the lot and began looking for her battery once more.

It wasn't until she passed up two rusted ones that she realized the corgi was still there, staring at her in the middle of the lot.

"What?" She glared. "Go on. Go back to your dog walker or whoever your tags belong to."

It sat down.

"I don't have food!" Rey protested, turning away from the batteries to pass the dog by and head back to the cooler shade of the garage.

It followed after her.

"No. No food. I don't have anything for you and I know if I do feed you, you'll just invite more mangy dogs into the lot and this place will end up looking like Old Meru's car wash."

She turned, looking over her shoulder to see the small ears perking up as it followed, sitting near the old X-Wing.

"Get away from the exhaust." She glared, coming over to shoo it away.

The corgi skittered and Rey sighed, bending down on a knee.

"Fine. Come here."

It came slowly, more timid now. But it's tail wiggled when she scratched it's ear and twisted the collar around.

"Let's see what your name is or if there's a phone number. Maybe someone will pick you up."

It licked it's chops, sitting patiently.

But there was only one tag, silver and engraved.

"BB-8?" Rey asked with a grimace of bafflement. "Who name's their dog two letters and a number?"

BB-8 barked.

The tag clattered against plastic at the action and she shushed him again to snatch it.

A flashdrive.

"What's this? Address?"

BB-8 wriggled out of her grasp then, rolling over out of balance and yapping.

"Well, I can't help you if you don't show me!"

More yapping.

"Not that I'm going to help you." Rey amended, standing once more and heading towards the small hardware stand with a few scattered bottles of water. She grabbed one and found a small dish of screws. She dumped them in a drawer before tossing it to the floor and upending the water into it.

"Here." She beckoned.

BB-8 slid across the cement and oil to gulp up the water, butt wriggling.

"And then you are on your way. Uncle won't want you here and I can't help you right now. I'm working."

The corgi stopped then, tongue lolling and ears flattening to stare up at her.

"I couldn't do anything more than take you to a shelter to see if you had a chip. And I can't do that until after my shift."

BB-8 stared.

Rey leveled her gaze at him when the small slow whistle of a whine started.

"No."

It grew louder.

"No!"

It transformed into a small howl then, little feet papping against the water bowl.

"Fine! But you have to sit and be quiet until I'm done!"

A bark. She ignored it.

It was a little hard to get back to work after that. Though she tried not to let it get to her.

It wasn't the first time dogs had to be herded out of the shop. They tended to pile up on this side of town and most were just looking for trash to eat or some shade to have beneath the old cars.

It was the first 'lost' dog she had found, as opposed to abandoned.

And BB-8, by the glimpses she got of the dog as she pulled parts out of the X-Wing, looked relatively domesticated.

The corgi sat eagle spread on the cement near her tool stand, breathing hard and blinking at her.

The closest shelter she knew of was near the post office near downtown. A good 30 minutes away.

She would have to hurry to get there before it closed, and she would have to do it on her speeder. With a dog.

Rey sighed and tried not to think about it.

She had to get a whole engine out of this thing now anyway.

Sliding her bag over and laying down a mat, she pulled herself beneath the X-Wing for what seemed like the millionth time this week.

So she smacked her head on the bottom of the car door when she heard it.

The crank in her hand fell and scattered across the garage floor.

She started, a loud banging sound thrumming louder, filling her with vibrations from head to toe.

She pushed with her feet, sliding fast from underneath the car before turning to the side to stare out to the noise from the dirty floor. The garage door was open to the empty customer parking lot and the street in front but she didn’t see anything.

BB-8 was up then too, panting forgotten as the corgi bounced around her feet barking wildly.

The sound blared through the ground and the aluminum fencing around the garage rattled.

It was a car stereo.

Rey glared.

Someone was blasting music through their speakers cruising down the main road. A bang followed the second wave of music and the Boxer started barking from Teedo’s place.

Sounds like the driver also removed their muffler too.

She rubbed an oiled hand on her ear at the cacophony of engine, speakers and two dogs.

"Stop that!" she chided BB-8 to no avail.

The noise swelled then, and suddenly a black mass erupted into view, passing the billboard for the shop and veering on the corner with a squeal of tires, breaks, missing muffler and the cry of a guitar.

A Command GX Convertible.

Black.

Rey stared at the most expensive car she’d ever seen in person, sitting up as the driver made smoke in its insane turn.

Top down, it roared on the corner before almost tearing the curb apart as it pulled straight into the parking lot and came screaming toward her open garage.

Rey scrambled, nearly yelling as the car looked like it would come crashing into the shaky building.

BB-8 darted forward as if to take the car head on, barking up a storm. She snatched the corgi easily before rushing behind the X-Wing to avoid the Command GX.

But the brakes squealed to a harsh and burning stop, filling Rey’s lungs with smoke and her ears with the blasting noise of garbled bass and synth.

“Ittu wald! Che ita kankee!” She yelled at the driver from behind the X-Wing, not able to see them.

Not that they could hear her.

BB-8 lurched in her arms with a yap. She held him fast before turning to dump him into the backseat of the X-Wing. "No! You stay there and be quiet!"

The corgi buckled, rolling on the cushions with flattened ears but obeying.

She hurried to the intruder then, putting on her angriest face as the music from the car rocked the garage.

“Ittu wald!”

The engine died as she waved her arm at the driver’s door and Rey took advantage of the silence.

“Ui! Aki wanna etu dunae! Ajuketu ajuketu—“

She stopped before the door when the driver turned to look slowly at her.

A helmet covered the driver's head. A modded motorcycle one, with silver grating.

Hands came up to pull the helmet off, black hair falling to meet the black of his jacket. Pale skin, dotted and creased, glared back at her with an angry mouth and dark eyes.

“Do I look like a Rodian to you, girl?”

Rey swallowed her surprise.

“You can’t block my garage, if you’re here for drop off service you have to park in front of the office. “ She pointed to the small building off to the right.

The driver looked towards the building before ripping his keys from the ignition and unlocking his door.

“No, you can’t–”

Rey had to jump back as the door came at her and the driver stepped out.

He was tall.

“Is this… “ He twisted, looking back at the old weathered sign above the lot. But the lettering was washed away.

“Uncle’s Car Plot.”

“I need service.”

“Are you dropping off for Monday?”

“What?”

Rey crossed her arms, staring up at the face tilted down at her. Her eyes squinted from the noon sun blaring from his height behind him. “It’s Saturday, Uncle’s not here.”

“Aren’t you working?”

“I’m not—“ She could feel annoyance rising in her throat. “We don’t take walk-ins. If you have an appointment—“

“No. I need this done now.”

“I can’t just–“

“Don’t—“

“Come back when—“

“No.”

They stopped, glaring at each other now. Rey watched the driver’s jaw work, his mouth turning down at one corner. His eyes flicked over her face before turning to look at his car.

She looked down with him inexplicably and her eyes traced the shiny paint of the car to the thin red decal stripe lining the body to the back lights.

Uncle would kill her if he ever learned that a Command GX rolled into the plot for service and she turned it away.

First the damn dog, and now this.

“Fine. Go into the office and give me a second to get you started with the paperwork.”

He didn’t say thank you.

He didn’t say anything actually, as he shut the heavy car door with an easy sweep. The black blazer he wore blew back from the gesture and she watched him head to the small office warily.

She waited until he was inside the office before rushing back to the garage.

BB-8 barked at her then and she pointed at him with a warning.

"No! Stay! I can't have you barking at customers. You wait there until he's gone and then I'll help you get home."

The corgi huffed against the open window, shoving a nose into the old vinyl.

She cleaned up a bit of her tools and found some rags to push over her skin and face, doing what she could about the sweat and grime before giving up.

She came into the office through the back, picking up a few forms along the way.

It was cooler inside, the rickety ceiling fan doing it's best.

He was standing in front of one of the posters on the wall, a guide on tire pressure. His height almost towered over it, dark eyes squinting as he read.

“Can you fill these out?”

He snapped his head toward her, the thick brow meeting her with what almost seemed like suspicion.

She rolled him a pen and slid him a clipboard, but he ignored it as he approached, looming over the forms and filling them out at the counter instead.

She preoccupied herself with waking up the old computer behind the desk, pulling up their appointment system to set up his account.

She didn’t bother asking if he had been in before. She would have remembered that car.

And probably him.

“Command GX-C. What year?”

“This year.”

Brand new. Rey shook her head to herself. It probably cost more than every car in the entire lot combined.

“It has a 224 Malachor kit and a Kyber engine.”

More than this plot and Teedo’s combined then.

“Where’s the damage?”

His eyes flicked up to her and the movement distracted her enough to look back at him.

He didn’t say anything.

“Where on the car—“

“The front driver’s side. And the headlight. …Maybe the kit..."

He trailed, looking away. She watched him swallow.

"Is that it?"

"The windshield needs to be replaced.”

She frowned but tapped in the brief info. She hadn’t seen the damage but she hadn’t been looking.

He slid the paper back to her before leaving the counter.

That was fast.

She peered at him as she pulled it close, looking over the information.

Ren, Kylo.

She looked at him again, as if the reveal of his name would make his attitude any less of a mystery. It didn't.

The car's make, model, date, DL number. Standard stuff. Then his address. He lived downtown, next to the new fancy metro. Expensive. But–

“You left your insurance and registration blank.”

“I don’t—“

She looked up. “You don’t have insurance or registration?”

The look he gave her was scathing. “I do.”

She waited but it must have been with a doubtful expression.

Thick brows furrowed as he glared full on at her. “I do. But I’m not listing them. I don’t want this on record.”

“You don’t have to use them for the repairs if you don’t want them to take your deductible but it’s for our liability if something–“

“I don’t care.”

“If we make a false repair—“

“I don’t care about that I just want it fixed. All out of pocket.”

“What about registration? I can’t order parts—“

“Just—“

“They won’t let me order from the manufacturer unless I file what serial—“

“Just—stop!”

His shout didn’t exactly take her by surprise, but she went quiet.

“Listen—“ A large hand smoothed back his long hair and his eyes drifted away from her to watch the poster about tire pressure. “I will pay you double the repair costs if you just… leave it.”

Rey stared.

“Whatever the price ends up being. On top of your estimated labor. Double.”

He didn’t say please, but he did lean on his elbows and look up at her slowly, holding her with a gaze she couldn’t determine as angry or… scared.

Was he trying to threaten her or beg her?

And double?

Even if it ended up being in house, with just a broken headlight of a Command—that part alone? Even with her meager rate at double the price? It was a job worth months of work.

She could buy a hundred X-Wing batteries.

But Uncle would take it all. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t done shadier deals, but she knew the moment he saw the car it would instantly be his job, even if she did all the work. Not to mention he’d end up giving this guy the run around.

“I… you’ll have to talk to Uncle on Monday.”

“No.”

“You’ll need to wait until the damage is appraised to know the cost and repair time anyway and I can’t—“

“What? No, today I—“

“It takes a week for an appraisal first—“

“You appraise the damn thing today!”

“I can’t! – Call back to talk to—“

“I’m talking to you!” He stood straight again, leaning forward, jacket folding on the counter top as he got closer to her face. “I need this fixed soon, mechanic. I don’t care how or how much but I’m asking you. Do you know how to do it?”

"Of course I do!"

They glared at each other.

Her hand hovered over the keyboard.

She knew what he was saying.

Her mind tried to calculate the time in her head. Or where the hell she would hide a Command GX to work on in secret.

But the plot was huge. And Uncle was almost never there unless he had pick up. And the old tire shack near the back had that Quadjumper in it she could roll out. Even then, she could lift it on a crank and cover it with a sheet.

“What's it going to be?"

“Yes.”

Her finger pressed on the backspace key and deleted all the appointment information.

His shoulders relaxed and she watched his throat move with his swallow.

“I still need to see the damage with you today to appraise it.”

He nodded. “Let’s go.”

He slid the forms back to her and she crumpled them, tossing them in the bin before following him outside again.

But when they got back to his Command she felt her eyes widen.

“Sithspit! What the hell happened?”

“Eloquent.”

She wasn’t sure how she missed it but she went to her knees immediately, fingers roaming over the warped and jutting plastic and metal.

The entire front right side of the car was destroyed. Silver was showing through the black, white scratches and dirt specked the paint. The plastic was fraying like threads.

The kit itself was broken, splintered and irreparable beyond any amount of hot water or bondo. The light was jostled out of it's case, the wind shield cracked into a web of lines, and the hood was bent, dents littering the front half like it had been in front of a batting range.

But worse, as her fingers delved through the broken pieces squealing against her ministrations, she felt the car’s frame.

Bent.

“Did someone clip you? You should call the police and report it, this is insane.”

He didn’t say anything.

She turned to look at him, but he was avoiding her gaze, his face red as he wiped the side mirror with his sleeve.

“I’m being serious—“ She called at him.

He glared at her but said nothing.

She stood again and took a step back.

The damage wasn’t like any she had seen. It looked punctured many times over. Like something had hit it several times with a small impact area. If he had been hit with any car, or motorcycle for that matter, the dent would be one large collision.

It looked like someone had taken a bat to his car. Or a bowling ball.

"If I were you I would file a report. If someone hit—"

“No one hit me.”

“What happe—“

“How much will it be?” He urged, turning to stand in front of her and avoid looking at his car altogether.

She sighed, having to crane her neck a little to look properly at his height. “Well, your wind shield is gone. The light looks good but it still has to have a new case. And your hood..." She shook her head. "That needs replacing, and the side of your kit, all this, see this?" She stepped by him to run her hand on the side of the car but he only stared at her, not bothering to look at what she pointed to. "It needs to be fully replaced. The front bumper looks okay aside from the corner, but if you want that fixed it has to be fully replaced too. I haven't seen the inside damage yet... But still, all this?”

His shoulders pushed out and in with his breathing. He looked at the ground and his lips pulled into his teeth before he looked at her again.

“What about the frame?”

She shook her head at him slowly.

He turned away, both of his hands dragging fingers through his hair.

He paced a little, his body getting tense. His hands shook as they dragged over his face.

“Fuck Me!”

Rey frowned at his expletive and cringed, feeling a bit of sympathy.

It was too nice a car too see this way.

“Can you do it?”

“If I start today and pull everything off I can order by this week.”

“How long?”

“Ordering takes a while. Parts might not be here for a few weeks or a month.”

“A month?” His voice went loud as he snapped to glare down at her, inches away.

Rey leveled at him and snapped back. “You have a 224 Malachor kit—they don’t just keep those on hand at every Duria Stop n’ Shop!”

“AARGH!!” He yelled this time, louder than before, but he turned from her when he did it, making her think he was yelling more at himself.

They went quiet after he walked a bit, eventually coming to stand at her side. They both stared at the mess of his car as his shoulders heaved in his frustration. Rey wondered if it was just her mind playing tricks on her when she thought she saw steam from the pieces.

He must had just been hit. Or whatever it was that happened.

A movement had her looking as he held his hand out to her, suddenly holding a black cell phone.

“Put your name and number in it. You can call me about the order when you get it started.”

“I’m going to have to move it somewhere more secluded."

He shuffled out his keys from his pocket.

“Do whatever you need to.”

She took both and handed him her own phone from the pockets of her work pants, trying not to feel insecure about the old keypad it sported or the black and white screen.

They exchanged information silently and when he took his phone back he looked over the information before finally looking her in the eyes again.

“Rey?”

She nodded. “You can reach me there, I always answer.”

He slid it into his pocket. “I can reach you anytime?”

“I’m always working.”

“You don’t have…” He trailed, but seemed to change his mind and said nothing. He pushed at his hair instead, eyes taking in the lot around him.

“Do you want me to call you a cab?”

“No.”

He didn’t explain, but he leaned over his car to collect a few things from the open convertible.

“I want it done as soon as you can. I’m good for the money.”

Rey thought of his phone and glanced at his car before looking at his shoes. Shiny leather.

She didn’t doubt him.

“I’ll do whatever I can.”

He stopped then, looking at her and then staring at the ground before his voice went low.

“Please.”

The moment stretched, the word a shaky thing. Filled with something that, again, Rey couldn’t distinguish as either anger or a genuine plea.

“Yeah. Okay. I got it.”

He nodded and after an awkward moment (and no thank you) he left, walking back to the main street he had torn onto earlier.

She watched him turn a corner, his phone to his ear and then she was left alone with his car.

Barking started from the Old X-Wing in the shade of the garage.

Well, not quite alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you tell yet that I'm not a mechanic? 
> 
> **References:**  
> [Kylo Ren's Car](http://www.musclecarsworld.com/gallery/2008-dodge-challenger-convertible-the-first-mr-norms-super-challenger/2008-dodge-challenger-mr-norms-convertible-011.jpg) (Translating the Command Shuttle into a 2008 Dodge Challenger Convertible.)  
> [Dopheld Mikata](http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Dopheld_Mitaka)  
> [X-Wing](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/87/1c/c1/871cc12e38b24a770d13a051e893f9b7.jpg) (Translated into a 1970 Datsun 240Z Coupe)  
> [Teedo](http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Teedo)  
> [Old Meru](http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Meru)  
> [Rodian](http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Dopheld_Mitaka)  
> ["224 Malachor Kit and Kyber Engine"](http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Kylo_Ren's_lightsaber)
> 
> [What's playing in Kylo's car?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFqyAuApUMU) (Destruction by Joywave)


End file.
